Johan Ottosen wins international “Oscar” for Countdown (The Stone Age in Danish)

I am so happy to announce that I have won a silver medal at the IPPY awards USA in the category “E9 Best Regional E-book Fiction”. That's probably equivalent to best foreign films in the Oscar context, although unfortunately without all the glamour.

The Age of Stone is masterfully translated from Danish by Sinéad Quirke Køngeskov.

At this year's IPPY Awards, 300 finalists received medals. “Several thousand” were nominated. Below you can see the official press release.

PRESS RELEASE

Danish thriller author Johan Ottosen wins prestigious international silver medal

IPPY Awards honor “Countdown” – the English version of the bestselling novel “The Stone Age”

Copenhagen, June 2, 2025 – Danish thriller author Johan Ottosen has just won a silver medal at the prestigious IPPY Awards (Independent Publisher Book Awards) for his book “Countdown” in the category “E9 Best Regional E-book Fiction”“Countdown” is the international edition of Ottosen’s Danish bestseller “The Age of Stone”, the first book in the popular Mirrin Bank trilogy.

The award comes as yet another international recognition of Ottosen's work, which previously received a Literary Titan Award in 2025. American reviewers have compared his style to Dan Brown, Robert Ludlum, and Tom Clancy, while Publishers Weekly describes the book as “Conspiracies, terrorism, and a looming apocalypse unite in this breakneck thriller.”

“It is a huge honor to receive this recognition from the IPPY Awards,” says Johan Ottosen. “The fact that my Danish thriller is now winning awards internationally shows that there is a great thirst for Danish literature abroad and that it is possible to publish directly from Denmark. I am looking forward to the future.”

Last October, things looked very bleak for Johan Ottosen, who had to wave goodbye to a full year of royalties when the publishing house, Superlux, to which he had sold his publishing house, Bukefalos Publishing, the year before with the aim of publishing abroad, went bankrupt. “Now the big job of getting the rights back from Superlux’s trustee is paying off,” says Johan Ottosen, who spent most of October and November 2024 getting an overview and negotiating the rights. He founded Forkbeard Publishing at the end of the year.

The Mirrin Bank trilogy, consisting of “The Age of the Stone,” “Angels of the Apocalypse,” and “Antikaos,” has sold over 55.000 copies in Denmark and received excellent reviews. Jyllands-Posten calls the series an “action film in book form,” while Danish book reviewers have dubbed Ottosen “Dan Brown of Denmark” and described his style as “Dan Brown on speed.”

The trilogy is a coherent story that unfolds hour by hour over the course of 14 days leading up to Christmas, combining elements from classic detective stories, political thrillers and Dan Brown-style adventures.

Johan Ottosen (b. 1968) had difficulty reading and writing as a child, which makes his success as a thriller writer even more remarkable. In addition to writing, he is a jazz musician and has studied with masters in New York and Copenhagen.

Johan Ottosen is a member of the Working Group for Literature established by the Minister of Culture, who has just submitted a catalogue of recommendations to the minister.

“Countdown” is available in English from thousands of bookstores worldwide as you can see here: https://books2read.com/u/3yxKEB, while the Danish versions can be found on streaming services such as Saxo Premium, Mofibo and eReolen.

The physical books are completely sold out in Denmark, but will be republished in July.

Countdown is additionally nominated for: 

• Readers' favorite International Book Award.
• Global Book Awards.
• Maincrest Media Book Award

For further information about Johan Ottosen, visit www.johanottosen.com

Contact:
Johan Ottosen
johanottosen@gmail.com

Forkbeard Publishing

Fredensborggade 5, 2nd floor

2200 Copenhagen N

Phone: 24651589
www.johanottosen.com

About IPPY Awards:
The IPPY Awards are one of the most recognized book awards for independent publishers and authors worldwide and have honored quality and innovation in book publishing since 1996.

Press release from Jenkins Group, owner of IPPY Awards: https://www.prweb.com/releases/now-presenting-independent-publisher-book-awards-2025-medalist-302468653.html

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO WIN AN IPPY?

To win an IPPY Award (Independent Publisher Book Award), a book must demonstrate excellence across multiple areas. The awards aim to recognise the best books published by independent authors and publishers. While the precise weighting criteria may be internal to the judging panel, here are the general aspects that are typically assessed:

1. Content and Writing Quality:

• Originality and Creativity: Does the book offer a fresh angle, a unique story, or a new insight? Is it innovative in its approach?
• Writing skills: This includes language proficiency, style, clarity, flow and the ability to engage the reader. Grammar, punctuation and spelling are expected to be at a high level.
• Narration (for fiction): Strong plots, well-developed characters, compelling dialogue and a clear theme.
• Research and Accuracy (for non-fiction): Thorough research, factual accuracy, clear argumentation and good organization of the material.
• Relevance and Impact: Does the book have something important to say? Does it leave a lasting impression on the reader? Does it fulfill its purpose (e.g., to inform, entertain, inspire)?

2. Design and Production:

• First Impressions (Cover): The cover design is crucial. It should be professional, eye-catching, appropriate to the genre and content of the book, and it should arouse interest. The title and subtitle should be clear and relevant.
• Interior Design and Layout: Typography (choice of font, size, line spacing), layout, readability and the general aesthetic presentation of the text and any illustrations.
• Production quality (for printed books): The quality of paper, binding, printing, and the general physical appearance of the book.
• Formatting (for e-books): Correct and user-friendly formatting that ensures a good reading experience on different devices. Navigation (e.g. table of contents) must be functional.

3. Professionalism and Editorial Work:

• Editing: The book must be thoroughly edited for both content aspects (structure, flow, clarity) and linguistic errors (grammar, punctuation, spelling).
• Proofreading: A careful proofreading to catch the last few mistakes is essential.
• Overall Presentation: The book should appear as a professional and well-crafted product.

4. “Wow Factor” and Independent Spirit:

• The IPPY Awards often look for books that are “bold, innovative and creatively designed”.
• They value books that “personify the spirit of independence” that drives the industry.
• The judges are looking for books that stand out from the crowd and demonstrate a high level of talent and dedication on the part of the author and publisher.

Who can participate (General entry requirements):

• The awards are open to independent authors and publishers worldwide.
• The books must typically be published within a specific time frame (e.g. the current year or the previous two years).
• Most categories are for English-language books available for the North American market, but there are also categories for books in other languages ​​and for regional markets.

• • There are specific categories for printed books, children's books, e-books, audiobooks, etc.